Automatic pneumatic railway-gate



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 1,

- 0. H. SHERWOOD.

AUTOMATIC PNEUMATIC RAILWAY GATE No; 526,872. Patented Oct. 2, 1 894.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

% ATTORNEY (No Model.) a SheetS Sheet 2.

G. H. SHERWOOD. AUTOMAIIG PNEUMATIC RAILWAY GATE.

Patented Oct. 2, 1894.

I INVENTOR:

IZZ

gl/hwvi/ ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

mun-(a, wAsHmhoN'. u. c,

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-SheetB.

4 C. H. SHERWOOD.

AUTOMATIC PNEUMATIG RAILWAY GATE.

No. 526,872., Patented Oct. 2, 1894.

I 6 Sheets-Sheet 4. G. H. SHERWOOD.

AUTOMATIC PNEUMATIC RAILWAY GATE.

Patented Oct. 2, 1894.

INVE NTOR Y M x (N M 6.ShetsSheet '5.

C. H. (SHERWOOD.

- AUTOMATIG'PNEUMATIG RAILWAYGA-TE. No. 526,872. Patented Oct. 2, 1894.

WITNESSES:

A ATTORNEY (NoMod'eL) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6;

, 0. H. SHERWOOD. AUTOMATIC PNEUMATIC RAILWAY GATE.

No. 526,872. I Patented 0011.2, 1894.

INVENTOR:

ATTORNEY WITNESSES;

J Unrrs TAT-YES 'ATENT FFICE.

CHARLES H. snERwoon, on UTICA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO HENRY o. LYMAN,on SHERBURNE, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC PNEUMATIC RAILWAY-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 526,872, dated October2, 1894.

Application filed February 17,1894- Serial No. 500,475. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. SHERWOOD, of Utica,in the county ofOneida, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Automatic Pneumatic Railway-Gates, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

is a full, clear, and exact description. This invention relates to theclass of rail- 0 way gates which are operated automatically by an engineor a train of cars approaching the portion of the railway guarded bysaid gates; and the invention consists in a novel organization ofair-pumps and valves actuated by the passing engine or cars andconnected by air-conduits with a cylinder, the piston of which isoperated by the pressure of the admitted air and imparts motion tomechanism which operates the gates, the

gate; and the invention furthermore consists in certain novel featuresof the details of the gate all as hereinafter more fully described andset forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan viewof asection of railway provided with my pneumatic gates. Fig.

2 is a horizontal section of the tubular frame containing the cables orchains by which the gates at opposite sides of the railway are operatedin unison. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on line XX in Fig.2with the gate mounted on the aforesaid frame.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the air- 3 5 pumps andtrack-instrument which operates said pumps and charges the compressedair- 1 reservoirs. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 6 is aplan view of the valves and track-instrument which operates the same topermit the compressed air to close the gates.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the same. Fig.8 is a transverse sectionon line-YY in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the air pump and track instrument operatingsaid pump to open the gates. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the samewith a portion of the pump cylinder broken away to show the piston. Fig.11 is a transverse section on line ZZ in Fig. 9. Fig. 12 is an end viewof the track instrument which operates the air pumps. Fig. 13 is anenlarged vertical section on line 'OO- whole constituting an automaticpneumaticin Fig. 11. Fig. 14. is an elevation of the in cased mechanismswhich are actuated by the compressed air and transmit motion to the gateto open the same, viewed from line S, S, in Fig. 15 in a direction atright angles to the axis of the gate. Figs. 15 and 16 are verticalsections respectively on lines U-U and VV in Fig. 14:. Fig. 17 is avertical section of the alarm bell and its actuating 6 fan. Fig. 18 is atransverse section on line WW in Fig. 17. Fig. 19 is a plan view of oneof the gates. Fig. 20 is a side view of the same. Fig. 21 is an enlargedside view of the flexible connection of the free end por' 6 tion of thegate to the main arm thereof, and Fig. 22 is a transverse section online -NN in Fig. 21. a 1

Similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts.

AA denote the gates each of which is mounted on a horizontal shaft &-which passes through a hollow standard or case B and is jonrnaled insuitable bearings in the sides of said case. 7 5

- To rearward extensions -A'--A' of the gate are connected weights -A"which areadjustable in their distance from the fulcrum of the gate topermit the latter to be properly counterbalanced.

. To guard against the danger of entrapping vehicles between the gatesor injuring vehicles, or horses or persons passing through the gatewhile the latter descends to its closed position, I form the gate-with aflexible end 8 5 portion or bar A which is held normally in line withthe main portion of the gate, by means of a suitable spring --?9 andpermitted to be swung upward and outward and thus yield to pressurebrought against its 90 under side and against'the side facing therailway. For this purpose I prefer to connect the end portion A- to themain portion of the gate by a ball and socket joint b the socket ofwhich is provided with 5 an opening bthrough which the bar A'. passes,said opening extending upward and to one side sufficiently to permit thebar to move as aforesaid as shown in Figs. 19,20, 21 and 22 of thedrawings.

.To the shaft 'a of the gate is fastened a pinion -a.' which meshes witha gearwheel -Cb"--- fixed to a counter-shaft cmounted in brackets c'c'-secured to the interior of the case B. To this counter-shaft is secureda crank c" which is connected by pitman C- to the piston rod C- of thepiston O" in the air-cylinder D, said cylinder receiving and dischargingcompressed air to operate the piston and thus open and close the gate bymeans of air pumps and valves operated by track-instruments whichreceive motion from the engine or cars passing over the road. Thegeneral arrangement of said parts is illustrated in Fig. 1 of thedrawings, in which -PP-- represent the air pumps which may be of anysuitable and well known construction. These pumps are at properdistances in opposite directions from the gates --A to allow them to beclosed by the operation of the pumps before the engine or train of carsarrives at the gates.-

d-d denote the track instruments which operate said pumps.

-R-R- are reservoirs for storing the air compressed by the pumps, whichair is con ducted from the pumps to the reservoirs by pipes -ee and inorder to equalize the pressure in the two reservoirs the latter areconnected with each other by an air-conducting pipe e. Either thereservoirs or the aforesaid pipes are equipped with suitablesafety-valves d'- to guard against excessive air pressure.

f-f represent the valves which control the flow of the compressed airfrom reservoirs to the cylinder D-- the piston of which operates thegates as hereinbefore described.

-f'f are valves which relieve the said cylinder from compressed air fromone end thereof while the opposite end receives compressed air from oneof the reservoirs -R through the valve -gg represent thetrack-instruments which operate the aforesaid valves and G G designateguard-rails which rise from opposite ends to an elevation at theircenters slightly above the top of the track-instruments to protect thelatter from contact with the so-called Hanger which is usually attachedto an engine or car and held in contact with the track-rails to removeice or sleet therefrom. Said guard-rail is the subject of anotherapplication for Letters Patent and needs no detail description in thiscase.

I will now describe more fully the construction and combination of theaforesaid air pumps, valves and their connections with thetrack-insturments and cylinder whose piston operates the gate.

Referring to Figs. 4t and 5 of the drawings, -F--F- denotes thetrack-rail, contiguous to the outer side of which is the head d"-- ofthe track-instrument dconsisting of a lever fulcrumed at d"--. The headdis elongated in the direction lengthwise of the track-rail and risesgraduallyfrom opposite ends to the center where it projects above thetop of the track-rail and is thus caused to be depressed by the wheelsof the engine and cars passing over it.

To the opposite end of the track-instrument or lever is connected thepiston rod -t'-of the air pump P. By means of a suitable spring -l:'-the outer end of the lever -d is normally depressed to cause the head-d"- thereof to project above the track-rail and also sustain the pistonof the pump normally in one end of the cylinder, the opposite end ofwhich is provided with an air inlet and has also attached to it theair-pipe ewhich conducts the compressed air to the reservoir -R. Thesuccessive depressions ofthe head clby the wheels of the engine and carspassing over it causes the track-instrument -dto impart a reciprocatingmotion to the piston rod 2' and thus actuates the air pump -P- whichforces compressed air to the reservoir R- where it is retained by a suitable check-valve -kconnected to the pipe eand by the normally closedvalve fconnected to the discharge pipe c"- which extends from reservoirR- to the corresponding reservoir R- beyond the gates, and has abranch-pipe-'e"- extendingfrom it and communicating with the base of theinterior of the cylinder.

It will be observed that the two air-pumps -P and their actuatingtrack-instruments located in opposite directions from the gates areoperated successively by the engine or train of cars in passing beyondthe gates as well as in approaching the same and therefore thereservoirs -RR are constantly charged with compressed air.

In approaching the gates, the wheels of the engine and cars operate thetrack-instrument gwhich opens the valve f and allows the compressed airto pass from theadjacent reservoirR through the pipes e"-e" to the baseof the interior of the cylinder D and thereby lift the piston (J whichby means of the pitman C--, crank --c"-, gear-wheel co"- and pinion a--causes the gates to be swung down into a closed position as indicated byarrows in Figs. 15 and 16 of the drawings.

The valve may be of any suitable or well known form. An exempliiicationofsuch a valve is illustrated in Fig. 13 of the drawings, which howeveris more particularly to be used in connection with the pump which raisesthe gates, and it consists simply of a case -ltapped at opposite sidesby the sections of the pipe --e-, partly indicated by dotted lines, anda slide --2- in the case adapted to cover and uncover the openingsthrough which the aforesaid pipe-sections communicate with the interiorof the case. In order to allow said valve to be opened only by theengine or cars approaching the gates, I form the track'instrument of ashaft extending horizontally at right angles from the outside of thetrack-rail -F and journaled in suitable bearings secured to a sill orprolongation of the cross-tie T and terminated at one end with an upwardextension g which is contiguous to the outside of the track-rail andsustained normally in an upright position by suitable springs g" andprojectsabove the track-rail so as to cause the wheels of the engine andcars to from the valve by an engine or cars passing neously andsubstantially alike.

from the gates does not affect the aforesaid valve. To relieve the upperpart of the interior of the cylinder -D from compressed air whileforcing air into the lower portion of said cylinder in the manneraforesaid, I employ the normally closed relief-valve f which isconnected to the pipe lextended from the top of the cylinderD-. Saidrelief-valve is placed in proximity to the valve f and arranged to beoperated in the same manner and simultaneously therewith by thetrack-instrument gas illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.

In order to give an alarm signal before closing the gates, I employ apneumatic alarm bell .I- preferably secured to the case B as shown inFig. 14 of the drawings, which bell is operated by means of a rotary fanL to the shaft of which are secured flexible bell-hammers L, said fanbeing driven by the force of compressed air produced and conducted tothe case of the fan automatically by the engine or cars approachin g thegates. This is effected by the following means: Near the side of eachpump--P is located a similar air-pump P'- the piston rod of which isconnected to the outer end of the lever or track-instrument dand thussaid two pumps are operated simulta- The pump P has its discharge pipe-mconnected to a reservoir R'- which is connected by a pipe m with thecorresponding reservoir R' beyond the gates to equalize the pressure inthe two reservoirs. A suitable safety-valve nconnected either to one ofthe reservoirs or to the pipe m+ guards against excessive air-pressure.From each reservoir -R- to the fan -L- extends a pipe n' to which isattached a normally closed valve '-'0 constructed and operated similarlyto the valve --f-, 'i. a, a track-instrument -0- substantially like thetrackinstrument-g is actuated to open the Valve -0- by the wheels of theengine or cars passing over said instrument in approaching the gates.The opening of said valve allows the compressed air to pass from thereservoir --R'- to the fan L which is thereby revolved and the bell issounded by the hammers attached to the shaft of the fan.

To automatically open the gates as the engine or cars leave the gates, Iemploy another air-pump P- operated by a trackinstrument substantiallylike the instrument -cZ- hereinbefore described, and located at or nearthe gate with the head dof sald instrument contiguous to the outer sideof the track-rail as more clearly shown in Figs. 9 and 10 of thedrawings. The discharge pipe rof this pump communicates with the upperpart of the interior of the cylinder D to cause the compressed air todepress the piston O" and thereby cause the gates to be lifted intotheir open positions.

,A normally closed valve 'r' is arranged to be opened simultaneously bythe track-1nstrument and is connected by a pipe -s to the base of thecylinder to relieve said portion of the cylinder from compressed airwhile the upper part is charged by the action of the pump as aforesaid.

-3 represents a disk fastened to the shaft a of the gate A- and providedwith a notch -4=- in its periphery. A detent 5 is pivoted at 6- and hasits upper end bent toward the aforesaid disk and adapted to engage thenotch ----4:-- when the gate -A is in its raised position as shown inFig. 16 of the drawings, said engagement serving to lock the gate in itssaid position.

The lower end of the detent -5- is formed with a laterally projectingcam 9- which is in such a position as to causeit to come in contact witha finger 7- projecting from the cross-head -8 in the beginning of theupward movement of said cross-head. Said contact causes the detent 5 tobe thrown out of engagement with the notch 4E and thus releases the disk3.

In order to allow the piston to move upward a suflicient distance toproduce the aforesaid effect without imparting in the meantime rotarymotion to the shaft a,

IIO

the gear-wheel ais mutilated or depand passes through the aforesaidframe as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

To afford access to the interior of the frame -N, I provide the fourcorners thereof with removable caps -tt Having described my invention,what I claim is- 1. An automatic pneumatic railway gate comprising avertically swinging gate-arm,

gears moving said arm to and from its closed imity to the gatecommunicating with the opposite end of the air-cylinder to move the gateto its open position, valves relieving the air-cylinder from compressedair in front of the piston, and track-instrument operating saidair-compressors and valves as set forth.

2. In combination with the gate proper, gears moving said gate to andfrom its closed position, an air-cylinder having its piston con' nectedto said gears to operate the same, aircompressors remote from the gatein opposite directions therefrom, air-reservoirs receiving thecompressed air, pipes leading from said reservoirs to one and the sameend of the aforesaid air-cylinder to move the gate to its closedposition, normally closed valves connected to said pipes,track-iustruments operatingsaid compressors and valves, an aircompressorin proximity to-the gate and communicating with the aforesaidair-cylinder to move the gate to its open position, a relief valvecommunicating with said cylinder, and track instruments operating saidair compressors and valves as set forth.

3. In combination with the gate proper, an air-cylinder provided with apiston, mechanisms transmitting motion from said piston to the gate,air-compressors remote from the gate, reservoirs receiving thecompressed air, a pressure-equalizing pipe connecting said reservoirs,pipes leading from the reservoirs to one and the same end of theaforesaid aircylinder, normally closed valves connected to the latterpipes, normally closed relief valves communicating with the opposite endof the air-cylinder, track-instruments operating the air-compressor andactuated by the engine or car passing in either direction, andtrack-instruments actuating the valves only in one direction as setforth.

4. A gate having its free end-portion connected to the main portion by aball and socket joint, anda spring sustaining the endportion normally inline with the main portion as set forth and shown.

5. In combination with an alarm bell, a rotary fan bell-hammers attachedto the axis of said fan, air-compressors remote from the bell,track-instruments operating said compressors, air-reservoirs receivingthe compressed air, pipes leading from the reservoirs to the fan,normally closed valves connected to said pipes, and track-instrumentsopening said valves as set forth.

6. In combination with the shaft a, gate A- and pinion -a' attached tosaid shaft, the shaft -c, mutilated gear a/ and crank c"- attached tothe latter shaft, the piston -O, pitman -C, the disk --3- provided withthe notch =i-, the detent -5-, and the finger 7 throwing said detent outof engagement substantially as described and shown.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 25th day ofJanuary, 1894.

CHARLES II. [n 8.]

lVitnesses:

D. L. ATKYNS, IDA P. LYMAN.

SHERWOOD.

